Reg’s Trip to Menorca

I’ve just got back from a trip to Menorca with the Old’ Uns and the Young Un. And I’m happy to report a good time was had by all. The Old Boy went diving and was pleasantly surprised by the underwater caverns. The Old Girl and Young Un explored Ciutadella, where we were all staying (more of that in another post). And one of the things we looked at was the Talaiotic stuff.

Ruined talaiot at Talati de DaltReg looking ‘talaiotic’Talaiotic water trough

Now, I have to admit, I had no idea what Talaiotic stuff was but after a bit of research, I found that the Talaiotic people were around in Menorca between 1000 and 300BC. They built talaiots, which are circular, tapered structures which might have been signalling or lookout towers. There are at least 274 talaiots in Menorca and we saw one at Talati de Dalt which is a short distance from the capital, Mahon. You can see the talaiot on the left of the first photo and next to it is the taula, a t-shaped stone monument. No one knows what taulas are for but they might have been sanctuaries for ritual ceremonies. Most of them face south, which seems to suggest they might have had some sort of astronomical purpose.

Part of the Talaiotic settlement

Unfortunately, no one seems to know much about the civilisation at all, so it was all a bit of a mystery.

Anyway, if you like mysteries, how about reading the Old Girl’s ebook, ‘Daffodil and the Thin Place’? You can find it here on the Muse It Up Publishing website or in any of the major ebook retailers. At least you get to find out what happens in the end when the mystery is solved, which is more than you do after a trip to Talati de Dalt.

Perhaps one day someone will unravel the mysteries of the talaiots and taulas.

Oh and before I forget, what do you think of this gate? I thought it was rather picturesque.